Private Label Tea from Sri Lanka

Private label tea means tea made and packed to your specification, sold under your brand. Most private label tea in the US and Europe is blended and packed in the buyer’s own country from imported bulk leaf. Packing at origin in Sri Lanka is the other route: the tea goes into your pack where it is grown, and Ceylon tea packed in Sri Lanka can qualify for the Sri Lanka Tea Board’s Lion logo.

We source and pack Ceylon tea for overseas brands. This guide explains the choices you make, how minimums work, and what a first run looks like.

Private label, white label or bulk

The five decisions behind every quote

1. Tea. Black, green or white; a single region (Uva, Dimbula, Nuwara Eliya, Ruhuna) or a blend; plain, flavored or herbal.
2. Format. Loose leaf, string-and-tag tea bags, pyramid bags or individually wrapped sachets.
3. Pack. Stand-up pouch, carton, tin or gift box; retail or food service.
4. Quantity. Units per run, and how often you will reorder.
5. Claims. Any certification or mark you want on the pack (see below).

Send us those five and we can price it. Leave some open and we will come back with options.

How minimums work

Minimums are set by the packaging, not the tea. Loose leaf in a plain pouch with your printed sticker has the lowest minimum. Printed cartons, custom tins and tea bags on a packing machine carry higher minimums, because the printing and machine setup are paid once per run. We confirm the exact minimum and price with the factory for your format, and tell you before you commit.

Marks and claims on the pack

• Lion logo. The Sri Lanka Tea Board’s Lion logo marks 100% Ceylon tea packed in Sri Lanka. It is licensed per packer and per product, so we confirm eligibility for your specific pack before artwork is final.
• Organic. A factory’s organic certificate does not transfer to your brand. To print “organic” on your own label, your company generally needs its own certification as a handler, and the label names your certifier. Check with your certifier before you design the pack.
• Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade work the same way: the mark follows the certified chain, so ask before you put it in the artwork.

A first run, step by step

1. Taste first. Sample sizes of Ceylon tea can be bought by card on our samples page.
2. Brief us. The five decisions above, plus your artwork or a description. Our trade desk replies within one business day.
3. Approve a pre-production sample of the tea in your pack before the run starts.
4. Pay and ship. On first orders of USD 2,000 to 20,000 you can pay through Escrow.com, which releases payment only after you accept the goods. Every quote carries a dated ship estimate for air and sea.

Paperwork

• HS 0902 covers tea, split by black or green and by pack size (retail packs of 3 kg or less, or bulk).
• Each shipment carries a commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin. A lab certificate of analysis is available on request.
• For the US you, or your customs broker, are the importer of record and handle FDA Prior Notice and FSVP. Your label must meet the destination’s food labeling rules; we print what you approve.

Selling cinnamon or spices under your label too? See private label from Sri Lanka and the bulk Ceylon cinnamon guide.